Hong Kong Annual Administration Reports, 1841-1941
REPORTS EXHIBITING THE PAST AND PRESENT
April the excitement prevailing at Canton and in its vicinity, regarding the question of our entry into the city, affected their trade, which, however, revived as soon as the agitation subsided, and continued brisk until the end of June, when, without any apparent reason, it declined once more. In August it was again good, although piracy was then at its height.
In the daily report of the last four months of the year, no notice has been taken of the fast-boat trade.
2. Marine junks-There is no record of the numbers of these that visited this port between the 1st January and the 30th April; but from the 1st May to the 31st December, 1849, besides the craft exclusively engaged in the salt trade, or the carriage of stone, 596 junks of various sizes touched or discharged and took in cargoes at Victoria from Tien-tsin, Shan-tung, Shang-hai, Fuh-kien, Formosa, Hainan, Tonquin, Siam, and the east and west coasts of the province of Kwang-tung, by far the larger number coming from the districts next eastward of that opposite to which the Island of Hong Kong is situated.
The only arrivals worthy of note as the first of their kind are those of a rice junk from Formosa, in April, and of three Tonquin vessels owned and manned by Chinese, in June.
The details of the marine trade, as far as this office is informed, are as follow:-
In January and February Mr. Gutzlaff's notes state that the marine junks did good business.
In March and April few came here to trade, but several passed towards Hainan for sugar, and one brought a cargo of rice from Formosa, the first imported thence.
In May some 90 junks brought provisions and sundries, rice and alum, from Kwang-tung East; two, from Kwang-tung West, brought rice for Hong Kong, and sugar and oil-cake for the northern ports; 30 from Fuh-kien passed south for sugar and oil.
In June 80 junks from the East Coast, some of them bound to Canton, brought in live stock, rice, crockery, flour, oil-cakes, salt, and molasses. Some took away opium and manufactures. Eleven junks from Fuh-kien brought rice and crockery, taking opium, manufactures, and saltpetre; three from Hainan brought cocoa-nuts and dye-bark; three from Tonquin passed through with coarse cotton goods and dye-roots; one large junk from Canton, and one from Singapore, bound for Tien-tsin.
In July 30 from the east of the province brought rice, live-stock, and sundries; 10 from Fuh-kien alum and sundries; two from Hainan cocoa-nuts and provisions; three from Ting-hae (whether the chief town of Chusan, or, as is most likely, some place on the coast, does not appear), which took hence calico, opium, and sundries; eight from Singapore passed north with sugar, and two from that port, of a large size, with Straits' produce for Tien-tsin. These made purchases here.
In August 49 junks from the East Coast brought in live stock, oil, sugar, and salt; eight from Fuh-kien salt, alum, and tea; eight from Hainan mats, cocoa-nuts, and dye-bark.
Mr. Gutzlaff's note here remarks that piracy was depressing the trade.
In September 72 junks from the East Coast, 16 from Fuh-kien, outward and homeward bound; two from Hainan, and one from Siam, in all 91 vessels, of which some brought salt and mixed cargoes, and the majority, according to the locality from which they came, live-stock, sugar, sweetmeats, nutmegs, pepper, peas, beans, wheat, cocoa-nuts, potato-flour, drugs, dye-woods, bark, rattans, firewood, coarse paper, and crockery ware.
7 were bound to Shang-hai. 2 to Fuh-kien. 1 to Kwang-tung East. 1 to Tien-tsin. 1 to Hainan, and 25 to Canton.In October 92 junks arrived, viz.: 71 from Kwang-tung East; 15 from Fuh-kien; 1 from Tien-tsin; 2 from Shang-hai. The three last bound to Canton. In addition to the articles of freight brought by the September junks, these carried alum, dried fish, vegetables, and fruit, and the Shang-hai boats, cotton and nankin.
In November 98 junks brought cargoes similar to the above, as well as coal, sulphur, charcoal, tobacco-leaf, and Chinese wine. Of coal one entire cargo was on its way from Kwang-tung East to the city, and two part cargoes came from Fuh-kien and Formosa, from which last place came likewise the sulphur. The tobacco was from Namoa East for the city, and the wine from Tien-tsin for the same market. Their numbers and distribution were as follow:-
From or for- Shang-tung 1 with cotton. Tien-tsin 1 with cotton. Shang-hai 2 Fuh-kien 21, including 1 with rice from Amoy. Formosa 1, and all the rest Kwang-tung East.In December there came but 56 in all: from-
Tien-tsin 1 with peas and dried fruits for Canton; Fuh-kien 14, including 1 from Fuh-chow, with peas, rice, bricks, and cotton; Formosa 1 with coal and sulphur; Kwang-tung West 1 with bricks and alum; All the rest from Kwang-tung East.